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James Covit

The hostage deal: a scary moment for this country

President-elect Donald Trump has just posted on X that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has been reached. After more than 15 months since the Hamas-led October 7th attack on Israel, during which 1200 civilians were slaughtered and 250 were taken hostage into Gaza, finally, there seems to be some hope in Israel. The people of Gaza will also experience much-needed relief, following a brutal war in the coastal enclave that has killed more than 40,000 people and has displaced around two million residents.

After high school, like many Jewish students, I chose to spend a gap year in Israel to study and immerse myself in the land. However, the country I have lived in for the past half a year is not the Israel one would recognize had they visited before October 2023. The people here are, obviously, tremendously traumatized by the terror attack itself—which was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust—but I feel it is the hostage crisis that has had a greater impact on the Israeli psyche. While the 1200 people lost during Hamas’ massacre are gone, the 98 trapped in tunnels deep underground Gaza can still be saved.

Reminders of the hostage crisis are ubiquitous across Israel. Yellow flags, the international hostage color, fly on the sides of highways; yellow ribbon pins dangle off t-shirts; posters of the faces of the kidnapped are found on restaurant menus and on what seems like every street corner; ice cream shops keep one tray empty to honor the “Missing”; cafes display one empty table with yellow chairs; and the number of days since the hostages were captured shines from the top of Tel Aviv skyscrapers.

There is a reason Israel feels so glaringly different at this moment: an integral part of the country is missing. A famous song about Israel’s holiest city goes like this: Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach yemini—“If I forget you O’ Jerusalem, it is as if I have lost my right hand.” For the past 460 days, the hostages have become Israel’s new Jerusalem, and the pain from this country’s missing right hand is stinging—because it can still be saved.

Just think about red-headed baby Kfir Bibas, who was dragged into Gaza on the back of a motorcycle with his mother and brother, and who has spent more of his life in captivity than in freedom; or Naama Levy, the peace activist who pleaded with the Hamas terrorists who stole her that she has “friends in Palestine;” or 85-year-old Holocaust survivor Shlomo Mansour; or Thai agriculture student Bipin Joshi. Or listen to the testimony of released hostage Aviva Siegel—whose husband, American Kieth Siegel, remains in captivity—as she describes seeing the terrorists force the younger female hostages to shower in front of them, before dressing them up as dolls to assault them. And, she continues, she witnessed captives forbidden from moving or speaking for more than 24 hours.

Since the week-long ceasefire in November that saw the release of most children and some women, Israelis have prayed and protested for a part 2. We may be at that long-awaited moment now. Yet there is ample reason to feel nervous. Before there was almost a deal in late August, Hamas decided to execute 6 hostages by shooting them from close-range on day 329 of their captivity. Those 6 include American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose mother, Rachel, had become an international symbol for the captives’ release—having met with the Pope and having spoken at the Democratic National Convention. Days before his murder, tragically, Rachel and other hostage mothers traveled to the Gaza border to shout to their children via loudspeaker. So, maybe, at least she got to say goodbye while he was still alive. Eden Yerushalmi was also one of the 6 who were killed. Her last text message to her family read, “Find me, ok?”

Now, in the wake of numerous failed deals, Israelis are terrified that this deal will fall through, too. This time, however, seems to be different. Trump’s promise that “There will be hell to pay” if the captives are not released by the time he is in office may have successfully pressured all parties involved to act. And if the truce does hold, the first hostages will be released in just a few days. Every week, three people will be brought home to their families, starting with Kfir Bibas, his brother, five-year-old Ariel, Naama Levy (the peace activist), and the other young women. (The first phase of the agreement will include 33 people; the second phase still needs negotiating.)

Once again, the taste of their release is “crunchy”—to use the words of Rachel Goldberg, describing how close the (eventually unsuccessful) deal to save Hersh felt. The videos of families reuniting from two Novembers ago, during the temporary deal, play over and over in people’s minds. So yes, the entire country is on the edge of its seat, eagerly awaiting news of the release of the 98 hostages. And yes, the entire country is scared. But this time, they may actually be coming home.

About the Author
James Covit is a high school student at the Heschel School in New York City. He is an alumni of Seeds of Peace International Camp and the American Jewish Committee's Leaders for Tomorrow fellowship.